Affordable Life Insurance Protection for Your Family

What Does Life Insurance Term Mean?

When it comes to life insurance there are two basic types of policies available: Term and Permanent.

Term life insurance is temporary life insurance lasting for a set duration, usually up to thirty years.

The "Term" of your coverage is the period of time you have insurance.

The "Term" is also known as the "Policy Term".

Permanent life insurance provides lifetime protection, so there is no term, as the coverage ends when the insured passes away.

Whereas, term insurance lasts until the insured person dies, or the policy term ends, whichever comes first.

Choosing a Term for Life Insurance

What Life Insurance Term Should I Get?

If you have decided on buying a term life insurance policy, then one of the most important questions to consider is, "What Term Do I Need For My Coverage?"

Selecting the right Duration (Term) for your term policy to last is very important, because you want to make sure your life insurance is "In Force" for the entire period of time you have a need for life insurance protection to accomplish your goal for your policy.

Examples of Needs and Policy Terms

Mortgage – Choose a policy duration of coverage to match your home mortgage loan so you can protect your home for your family. Mortgage loans usually last for 15, 20 or 30 years.
Young Children – Choose a term of coverage the number of years from your youngest child’s age until they are out of the home and self-supporting. So, if your youngest child is 3 and you want to provide coverage until the child is 23, you may want a 20 year term life plan.
Expecting a Baby – If you are expecting a baby, you may want to have a 25 year term insurance policy to provide coverage until your child is grown-up and out of college.

What Terms are Available for Term Insurance?

Most life insurance carriers that offer term insurance usually provide options of policy terms lasting for a duration of 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years.

However, keep in mind, the maximum length may vary by insurer based on your age and health. For instance, a 70 year old may only be able to buy up to 10 years of term life protection.

Also, the longer the duration of your term for coverage, the higher your annual cost (premium) for your life insurance policy.

Make sure to compare pricing for different policy terms when you shop for your term life plan. You may find that the annual cost is not that much more for a 20 year policy term compared to 15 years, and you can always cancel the policy at any time should you find you no longer need the protection.

Review of Policy Term Duration

In summary, you want to determine what your goal is for your life insurance policy, then decide how many years you need your life insurance to last in order to accomplish your goal.

Make sure to error on the long side. So, if you need term life insurance to last for a period of 17 years until your mortgage expires, and the kids are grown-up and out of the house, then choose a 20 year term insurance policy.

Term Life Insurance Quotes

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